Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Here I Am


The book is basically finished, galleys have been sent out to reviewers, and we're on track for publication and release in mid-March 2013. Here's the publisher's promo (at http://www.groveatlantic.com/?isbn=9780802120908): A compelling portrait of the award-winning British-American photojournalist and codirector of Restrepo, Tim Hetherington, who died while covering the 2011 Libyan uprising. Here I Am: The Story of Tim Hetherington, War Photographer By Alan Huffman 978-0-8021-2090-8 • $25.00 • Forthcoming in Cloth • Mar. 2013 Biography (Military) Tim Hetherington (1970–2011) was one of the world’s most distinguished and dedicated photojournalists, whose career was tragically cut short when he died in a mortar blast while covering the Libyan civil war. Someone far less interested in professional glory than revealing to the world the realities of people living in extremely difficult circumstances, Tim nonetheless won many awards for his war reporting, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his critically acclaimed documentary, Restrepo. Hetherington’s dedication to his career led him time after time into war zones, and unlike some other journalists, he did not pack up after the story had broken. After the civil war ended in Liberia, West Africa, Tim stayed on for three years, helping the United Nations track down human rights criminals. His commitment to getting the story out and his compassion for those affected by war was unrivaled. In Here I Am, journalist and freelance writer Alan Huffman tells Hetherington’s life story, and through it analyzes what it means to be a war reporter in the twenty-first century. Huffman recounts Hetherington’s life from his first interest in photography and war reporting, through his critical role in reporting the Liberian civil war, to his tragic death in Libya. Huffman also traces Hetherington’s photographic milestones, from his iconic and prize-winning photographs of Liberian children, to the celebrated portraits of sleeping U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. Here I Am explores the risks, challenges, and thrills of war reporting, and is a testament to the unique work of people like Hetherington, who travel into the most dangerous parts of the world, risking their lives to give a voice to those devastated by conflict.